Family Sues Universal Studios Saying They’ve Been Victims Of Racism

Going to Universal Studios is one of the things that families loved to do before the lockdowns happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in 2019, Tiffany Zinger took her 6-year-old daughter to Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, FL. They hoped it would be a memorable family vacation. But things did not turn out as planned.

Tiffany shared, “We just wanted to take them to see the Minions, do something special for our family.”

At first, it all went well. Their vacation was everything they had ever hoped for. And during their visit, they enjoyed a character meet and greet breakfast. Her daughter was excited to see “Gru.” Every kid knows who Gru is because he is the main character from the movie ‘Despicable Me.’

But what happened next was truly was despicable…

Mother and daughter posed together for a photo with Gru. The character was resting his hand on her shoulder. They were all smiles. It was a dream come true for a little girl. But things changed when she brought a printed screenshot of their visit to the school for a show and tell.

They soon realized that their fun, family vacation pictures, had been ruined.

During the show and tell at school, Tiffany’s daughter was not allowed to show the photo because the actor in the Gru costume was displaying a widely known white supremacy symbol with his hand while posing with the girl. Now take note that this little girl is biracial.

Tiffany said that her daughter was humiliated after learning what had happened and why she couldn’t share her photo with the class. Meeting Gru was probably the best day of her life, but then she could not share it with the class because of this.

Tiffany was enraged that what should have been her little girl’s memory of their fun time together had been ruined by a symbol of hatred. And it was obvious that it was clearly directed toward her family.

This though was not an isolated incident.

Back in February that same year, a photo surfaced of this same Universal Studios actor posing with another little girl, who is also biracial. This photo also included the white supremacist hand gesture made by the actor.

Now, both families are suing Universal Studios for damages including emotional distress, humiliation, loss of dignity, and mental anguish. Reports say that they are seeking $30,000 in damages to their children’s mental health and well-being.

Universal Studios has not disclosed the name of the actor, they did release a statement regarding the incident. They also confirmed that the actor has already been fired. When asked about the incident, a spokesperson for the park said, “We never want our guests to experience what this family did. This is not acceptable and we are sorry — and we are taking steps to make sure nothing like this happens again. We can’t discuss specifics about this incident, but we can confirm that the actor no longer works here.”

Firing the racist actor is a clear step in the right direction. Yet, it remains unclear what additional measures they are taking to ensure that this claim is valid and that the affected guests are well compensated for their distress.

Also, the families affected by this incident are not satisfied. The lawsuit between the families and Universal Studios is still pending.